Apr. 17 - Currant Affairs

As I mentioned in my previous journal, my favorite setting for hummer photography is my currant bush. Last year I had no luck trying to photograph the male hummers there. I seldom saw them in the currant, and on the few occasions when I did see them, they took off before I could even get in camera range. What a difference a year makes. This year I'm already 2 for 2. I've seen them twice and was pleased both times to get some decent shots.

This year the the male hummers have been regular visitors to the currant bush.

I wonder if having at least five males hanging around makes any difference?

Last year I think there were only two males around.

After the male hummer left I had a surprise visitor. An Orange-crowned Warbler with a sweet tooth snuck in for a little nectar treat.

It didn't stay long once it noticed me, but just long enough for one good pose. The irony of the whole situation was that yesterday I spent over an hour unsuccessfully stalking it for for a photo. i wasn't even trying today and I got the picture.

After the Orange-crowned, I focussed my attention on another newcomer, the Cassin's Vireo. I love hearing their full-bodied calls emanating from the tall arbutus trees.

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Apr. 18 - Last Visit With the Owls

After my visit on Apr. 14, I knew that the Great Horned owlets would be soon leaving their nest. I was monitoring Ted's daily reports and photos and adjusting my schedule. I didn't want to miss the occasion so it was off to Victoria for the second time in five days. It was a good thing I didn't wait any longer. Of course, while I was in Victoria I had to check Clover Point just in case the Lapland Longspur Mary found the day before was still in town. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the Longspur, and no one has reported it since. I wasn't really disappointed as spring migrants don't seem to hang around like the fall migrants. Meanwhile, there were a few other photo opportunities that I enjoyed taking advantage of.

The first birds I noticed were the multitudes of Barn Swallows cruising back and forth along the waterfront. I eventually spotted one was resting on the handrail by the path behind the pumping station.

Another locally common species was the Dunlin. There were about 30 on the rocks by the water's edge. I normally would have passed them up, but I noticed some of them in their breeding colours.

About half were still in their winter drab garb, but the other half were dressed for the northern migration to their breeding grounds.

It never ceases to amaze me to see the dramatic plumage transition from monochromatic winter gray to the starling black belly and bright rufous back.

After the Dunlin shoot, I was delighted to see a crow chasing a Cooper's Hawk. The hawk cruised behind the boathouse and disappeared while the crow turned back. When I peeked around the corner, the adult Cooper's was right there enjoying the respite from the crow. I had been hoping for a close shot of an adult Cooper's to accompay the close encounter with a juvenile two weeks ago. Have a good look at the dark cap on the Cooper's. The Cooper's has the cap while the Sharp-shinned has the hood.

In case you're wondering why I cropped the feet of the Cooper's, the problem was the bands. The Cooper's was wearing more bracelets than a cheap nightclub dancer. Chances of seeing an unbanded Cooper's in Victoria are rare. While the bands might serve some scientific purpose, they are a total frustration for photography. The same problem exists for the Calofornia Condors at the Grand Canyon. They all wear large numbered bands that totally destroy the natural look of the bird.

Another common sight close to the waterfront were the migrating Savannah Sparrows. Most of them are on their northern migration but a few will nest locally.

The Savannahs are grassland birds that have been extirpated in many areas in the eastern US. Attempts are beeing made in some areas to restore some of the grasslands and reintroduce the Savannah's.

A brief stop at the doggie park called Cattle Point scored me a male Anna's Hummingbird. There were very few birds in the vicinity.

I took my time getting to the owls as I expected the lighting would be better in the afternoon. I got there at 12:30 and the nest was in the sunlight, but it was already deserted. The three owlets were on the branches of a nearby tree.

The adorable little owlets were quietly sitting on separate branches of the giant fir. I waited patiently for a ray of sun to illuminate at least one of the babies, but the forest was not cooperating.

With the shadows, backlighting, and darkness of the forest, I had to increase my ISO to 800 to get any shots. I upped the speed just in time to catch one of the owlets moving along the branch.

I can fly! I can fly! It must be a wonderful epiphany to realize you can fly.

Just look at the smug expression on the owlet. It was saying, "Adios," just before it flew to another tree.

The second owlet decided that it could also fly, and it did. The landing wasn't too graceful, but it managed to hang on.

The third owlet wasn't too sure. It decided to stay put for awhile. It was still there when I left.

Meet Mrs. Great Horned. She is larger than her husband which isn't unusual. In fact, I think that's true for all the owl species.

Meet Mr. Great Horned. He quickly showed up when a band of marauding ravens got too close to the nest.

According to Ted the owlets didn't fledge until May last year. I don't know if the were born later or developed slower because there were four babies. All I know is that I'm glad I came down today. Ted checked a day later and found one of the owlets low down on a stump. He didn't expect that he would see them again.

Mystery photo. What do you see? There are three subjects in this photo. Email me if you can or can't figure it out.

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Apr. 20 - Back on My Regular Beat

It has been weeks since I've done my regular check from Parksville to Qualicum. I wasn't surprised to see that most of the ducks had disappeared. I expect that many have begun their migration to their northern nesting grounds. All I saw were a few Mallards, small flocks of American Wigeons, two Eurasian Wigeons, and a pair of Surf Scoters. By the way, the pair of Lesser Scaup were still at Fairwinds yesterday. I expected to see lots of black-headed Bonaparte Gulls and I did, especially at French Creek. I also expected a couple of Glaucous Gulls at French Creek, and sure enough there were two first winter birds among the small flock of first winter Glaucous-wingeds.

Want to photograph Glaucous Gulls? The little beach at French Creek is my favorite spot. There always seems to be a couple of Glaucous there every spring. They just laze around gorging themselves with rancid herring roe.

As long as you move slowly you can approach to reasonable photo proximity. If you flush them they just fly around you to another part of the beach.

Here we go again. It was a good day to work on flight shots.

The gulls were in no hurry to get anywhere. They just circled around and landed close by.

Just one last shot to show you how easy it was. I'm assuming these were first winter birds because of their dark eyes and residual dark markings.

The Last Two Thayer's - Most of the Thayer's Gulls have probably departed on their northern migration. They nest in the high Arctic so they have a long ways to go.

There was a flock of 60 Brant at Qualicum this morning. They were dining on the eel grass and sea lettuce being washed in by the tide. The Brant migration should be nearing its end pretty soon.

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That's it for another week or so. What should I be looking for next? The Horned Grebes are probably in their spectacular breeding plumage now, and it would be great to catch them doing their intricate courtship routines. Same goes for the Marbled Murrelets. The odd breeding plumaged Long-tailed Duck might still be lingering around Deep Bay. The Buttertubs Bullock's Oriole should be arriving any day. It's also time to look for migrating warblers and flycatchers as well as Lazuli Buntings or how about a male Painted Bunting? The possibilities are endless. It never hurts to dream!